Asian Recipes

Eggrolls (Chả giò in Vietnamese) are a staple in Vietnamese cuisine. Despite its name, eggrolls contains no egg. They're filled with taro root, carrot, dried mushroom and rice vermicelli noodles. They also usually contain tofu or a meat product. This version is fried but there's also spring rolls that are not fried, I'll make those and post them some time soon.

This recipe is for my version of vegetarian eggrolls. They are very convenient when you're serving a large crowd. Eggrolls are the perfect party food. You can make them large and serve them with the main course, or make them smaller and serve them as appetizers. All you need is a good fillling and a ton of little helpers to wrap the crispy delicious cigar shaped snacks. Some of my earliest culinary memories are of my mom making me wrap a bunch of eggrolls before a party.

It took all of us about half an hour to wrap everything whereas if you're alone it'll take about 2 hours. It won't take that long for your guests to devour them though!

As promised, this is the recipe of tướng ớt, literally spicy dipping sauce in Vietnamese. It's ultra easy. This sauce is great for dipping and stir-frying. The last time I used this condiment was for my father-in-law's favorite Asian dish, green beans and tofu stir fry.

It contains the bare minimum ingredients: something sweet, something savory and of course a ton of spiciness. This blend has a delicious garlic flavor.

Every year, my husband Lulu plants an incredible amount of all sorts of chiles. My parents-in-law loves extremely spicy food. Before I got married, I hated spicy food. To be honest, I could barely handle a dash of black pepper, let alone a jalapeno or heaven forbid a habanero. I guess marrying into an Indian family helped my taste buds. I've gotten better. I'm learning.

Rau câu is a Vietnamese jello cake that is made out of agar agar, which is a seaweed by product similar to gelatin. It's made out of coconut milk, condensed milk and layers of your favorite flavorings like mocha, vanilla, coconut, banana, chocolate and durian (if you're adventurous!).. It has the same texture of pana cotta.

It's a great alternative for vegetarians who do not want to use animal (usually pork) gelatin in desserts.

I made some coconut flavored sticky rice balls but instead of making the traditional split mung bean filling, I stuffed the dumplings with chocolate. I steamed them then rolled them in freshly grated coconut. They're delicious and cholesterol free.